Obstacles
by VictoriaGrant
Summary: Clarisse/Josef centered, starts with the events of PD I with a little twist- please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

_And another one, it´s Clarisse/Josef centered of course but I made a minor change to the story line that will make things a lot more difficult for our dream couple... Hope you´ll enjoy :D_

"Hello, Amelia."

Queen Clarisse Renaldi couldn´t help but wish her granddaughter could have had a bit more class and style but for now it would have to do, there was still time until she had to present her to anyone of importance after all- for now she was glad that her former daughter- in- law had talked the girl into coming back to the embassy at all.

"Hi, Grandma."

Amelia said, somewhat hesitant and this time Clarisse could see what was bothering the girl, of course she had no idea what was to be expected of her grandmother´s so called princess lessons.

Amelia´s eyes wandered to a framed photograph on Clarisse´s desk, the queen´s favorite picture of her and her husband, King Rupert.

"Is that Granddad?"

"Yes, that is him- he would have loved to come here with me to meet you but unfortunately he had to attend to important business, I´m afraid he´ll only arrive in time for the ball."

"How long have you been married?"

The princess asked, still looking at the picture.

"Forty- two years now" Clarisse answered, causing Mia to stare at her open mouthed.

"Forty- two years? Why on earth did you get married so early?"

"Our parents arranged for us to get married as soon as I turned eighteen, there wasn´t really a choice actually."

"So you didn´t marry because you fell in love?"

"No, we didn´t, it was simply a sensible arrangement for the country´s sake- that doesn´t mean I am unhappy with Rupert" Clarisse added hastily, sensing her granddaughter´s feelings.

"Quite the contrary, he´s a wonderful person and we are very close, I´m very fond of your grandfather."

"Ok- I was just surprised."

"I understand it´s hard to imagine it but it´s not that unusual within our circles."

"That´s why Dad left Mom?"

Mia asked, watching Clarisse intensely.

"No, I wouldn´t say that, your mother could have moved to Genovia with him and become queen but she didn´t want to, she was young and very free spirited and she didn´t want to live in a golden cage as she called it."

"Oh, ok."

"I know that must be difficult- but since your uncle had already abdicated at the time your father felt that he had to become king and to be honest your parent´s relationship was not a very harmonic one from the beginning, they decided that with the circumstances given it was best to go separate ways."

Clarisse explained, relieved when Mia relaxed.

"Perhaps it would be good if you asked Helen about it" Clarisse suggested and Mia nodded.

"Yes, I´ll do that."


	2. Chapter 2

_addlogcon: Thank you very much for the review, I´ll post the next part now and in the third there´ll be a phone conversation that brings a little light into the whole problem :)_

_chickenwriter: Ohhh, thank you, can give that right back ;) But of course, that´s the whole point, isn´t it... LOL_

_JUJUChick16: I´m very sorry for causing you such a trauma ;), don´t worry, won´t be so bad- yeah, well, Clarisse- our sweet control freak... _

_So thanks everyone, here´s part two! _

"Obviously this went a little more smoothly."

Clarisse turned around at the sound of the low male voice behind her.

"Yes, it did- where have you been all day?"

"You mean apart from driving the princess to school and picking her up again?"

Josef asked, keeping the sarcasm in his voice reduced to the tiniest hint but Clarisse caught it all the same.

"I know you are not happy with me asking that of you but you are the only one I would trust with her."

"I´m honored, Your Majesty" Josef bowed to her and Clarisse playfully slapped his shoulder.

"Stop it, I don´t like being made fun of and you know that."

"Of course I do, that´s why it is so amusing" he replied smoothly, then glanced at his watch.

"It´s almost time for dinner, do you want to go outside a bit before getting changed?"

"That sounds lovely, it´s so hot in here."

They made their way outside into the gardens, Clarisse aware of Josef´s eyes on her and the sensation made her feel even hotter in her black dress.

"She´s a sweet girl" the queen said, trying to break the silence, "she just needs a lot of guidance."

"There´s time" Josef shrugged as he lead the way over to a bench next to some particular lovely rose bushes.

"I know, it´s just- I have to make her presentable before Rupert sees her, you know how he is."

Josef laughed, obviously amused at the though of the King being confronted with Amelia and Clarisse could certainly see what was so funny, her husband was an outspoken perfectionist and had made their son´s suffer endlessly in his attempt to get through to them how important a perfect appearance was and now he had Amelia as a granddaughter.

"I have to call him later, he will want to hear all about her" Clarisse mused, she had sat down on the bench next to Josef and was now toying with her scarf.

Josef didn´t say anything and Clarisse looked up- for a moment she thought there was something like annoyance in her friend´s eyes but it was gone instantly, replaced by the usual expression of polite interest.

"Of course, Your Majesty, his Highness will be delighted to hear from you."

"Josef, are you all right?"

"Of course, what makes you ask that?"

"I don´t know, it was just- are you sure?"

"Yes- we should get inside, your guests will be here in about an hour."


	3. Chapter 3

_addlogcon: Hehe, yeah, sort off- actually it has bitten both of them, I mean both Joe and Rupert... ;) You don´t have to, I´ll post the next part now! _

_Captain Weirdo: Thank you very much- well, it´s always hard to try and do something more or less original with so little basic, it´s only the two movies after all but at least I´ve tried :) Hehe, yeah, Rupert is going to be fun- you know my favorite to write are amusing synical dialogues, so here Clarisse can have them with both Rupert and Josef. _

"Darling, what a nice surprise."

"You sound as though I was neglecting you completely" Clarisse complained, causing her husband to laugh out loud.

"I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to make it sound like that- so tell me, how are things?"

"Well, I have met Amelia again today, I hope she´ll meet your expectations when you came here."

"Of course she will, after all she is your granddaughter."

"Uhm- yes- well we are not every much alike."

"What a shame" the king replied and Clarisse smiled, if anyone had listened to their conversation they might actually had believed to listen to a couple very much in love, rather than to one that had perfected the art of setting up a show over the years.

Of course she knew that Rupert thought of her as an attractive woman but there had been other other´s he had found more appealing at times, in the beginning it had hurt her but now she had gotten used to it, had accepted that her marriage wasn´t a madly passionate one and maybe it wasn´t even bad that way, they hardly ever fought or even got upset with each other, her husband was always there to talk to and listen to her, to comfort her or give her his opinion of things, it was a sensible, comfortable arrangement.

"Do you know when you will be here yet?"

She asked, hoping to distract him from the rather long time it had taken for her to say something.

"I´m planning to leave two weeks from tomorrow, that´s if nothing goes amiss of course."

"Yes- so do you have anything scheduled for your time here?"

"Not yet but you know how it is, there will be something or the other that can´t wait."

"Most likely- how is Maurice?"

"Missing you of course- I still think it was good to leave him here, though, it is a rather long flight."

"Yes and it´s unbearable hot here, I wouldn´t fancy wearing fur in this weather."

Rupter laughed again and Clarisse smiled, pleased that after all this time she could still amuse him.

"How is Josef?"

Clarisse was surprised at her husband´s question but discovered from it instantly.

"Not so good, I made him look after Amelia while we are here."

"I bet he´s not happy about that, after all he considers every moment not spend in your company wasted."

The king calmly stated, making Clarisse gasp indignantly.

"Rupert, how often do we have to go through this."

"We can´t do it often enough, Clarisse, I´m telling you, it´s the only reason he hasn´t gone off to work in some more interesting place years ago."

"You are wrong, Rupert, Josef is a good friend and that´s it- I don´t want to argue now, please."

"All right, Sweetheart, I will drop it then- are you going to see Amelia again tomorrow?"

"Yes, I am, I´ll have to ask Josef to teach her how to dance."

"As long as he only teaches her" the king mumbled and Clarisse rolled her eyes.

"Are you implying I need someone to teach me dancing?"

"Of course not, Darling."

"Well, good, I didn´t think so."

"I´m sorry, Clarisse, I shouldn´t have said that."

"Well spotted" she replied acidly, then said "I think I´ll go to bed now, I´m awfully tired. Do you have much to do?"

"It´s not bad, I think another two hours and then I´ll go for a walk with Maurice."

"That´s a good idea, Dear, tell him that I miss him, will you?"

"You want me to be seen talking to your dog?"

This time it was Clarisse who broke into a fit of giggles, the idea of Rupert walking in the garden and chatting animatedly to her French poodle was simply hilarious.

--


	4. Chapter 4

_JUJUChick16: Thank you very much, Sweetie- hehe, yeah, smart guy, isn´t he ;)_

_addlogcon: Thank you- well, you know how it is, usually when someone is interested in you, you are the last person to notice- and your partner always is the first. _

_Captain Weirdo: Aw, thank you so much- I´ll post the next part now, hope you´ll like it as well!_

_bluegirl: Thank you :D Yeah, jealous men, aren´t they just ADORABLE... ;)_

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

"Good morning, Josef."

There was no reply and Clarisse realized that she had sounded a bit snappy, she had overslept and now the mountain of paper work on her desk seemed impossible to get over with before her lunch appointment but that wasn´t a reason to be unfriendly, especially not to Josef.

She looked up again, a soothing smile on her face.

"I´m sorry- good morning, Josef, did you sleep well, how are you feeling today and- have I left anything out?"

HIs eyes were twinkling when he shook his head.

"No, you havn´t- thank you, I did sleep well and there´s no reason to believe that today will differ from yesterday."

"You are still mad at me about Amelia" the queen sighed, pulling her glasses off and leaning back in her chair.

Maybe Rupert wasn´t that wrong when he kept telling her that her Head of Security didn´t think of her strictly as his queen, why would he be so upset about her making him spend his time with Amelia instead of her otherwise?

Clarisse´s heart beat a bit faster at the thought as she allowed herself for a short moment to picture her bodyguard and herself in a dark, shadowy corner, his arms around her waist as his eyes burned into her´s...

"Your Majesty?"

She snapped out of her daydream.

"I´m sorry, Josef, you were saying?"

"Are you sure you are all right?"

He asked suspiciously, "You are looking flushed."

"I´m fine, it´s just hot in here, I´ll be glad to get outside."

"Where are you going for lunch?"

"Are you loosing track of my schedule?"

She smiled innocently but he didn´t go for it.

"Not my concern anymore, you saw to that, I can tell you where the princess is going for lunch."

"I´m not going to apologize to you for the third time this morning" the queen stated, he was starting to annoy her with his childish attitude, it was only for a few weeks, they would survive this- no, he would survive, she didn´t care- or did she?

She had to admit it felt a little strange not to have him around- maybe even very strange- and yes, she missed him, she missed the hand on the small of her back that would guide her along her way, she missed his reassuring smile and the quiet things he would whisperer into her ear, usually sarcastic remarks about anyone in attendance at a social gathering.

She missed him telling her how beautiful she was when she descended the stairs and most of all she missed that overwhelming feeling of being safe in his presence.

Now that was enough, she was starting to loose it as Amelia would say- she wasn´t supposed to be the one to loose it, she was the one to find it.

Clarisse sat up straighter and looked back at Josef who was still watching her with a bemused expression on his handsome face.

"Yes?"

Clarisse asked, doing her best to sound dignified and calm.

"Nothing- I´ll be on my way then."

"The German consulate."

"I beg your pardon?"

"My lunch appointment- it´s at the German consulate" the queen explained, feeling hurt that he obviously wasn´t really interested where she was going to spend her afternoon.

"Oh, ok- I´ll bring the princess over after lunch."

"Yes- Josef?"

"Your Majesty?"

"Is everything all right- between us?"

She added, knowing that she better not had asked this but unable to restrain herself.

"Since when has there been an us?"

He asked, now sounding interested and Clarisse mentally cursed herself for having asked such a stupid thing.

"Oh stop being ridiculous- you seem so distant."

"I am distant, due to the fact that I´m not around you very often which was your wish and all I´m doing is living up to it- so if you excuse me please, the princess will be late for school."

He left the room and Clarisse shook her head, wondering if she had just acted a lot more childish than Josef.


	5. Chapter 5

_chickenwriter: Well he DOES have a point, doesn´t he ;) Thank you so much, I´ll post it now- aw, come on, of course I won´t kill you, I´m afraid that´s sort of my style though, I´ll try to make it a little easier, I´ll try, promised!_

_bluegirl- 783: Hehe, yes, well they both are- I like the dark corner image, too... Dream away- uhm, ok- thank you very very much :D_

_addlogcon: Thanks :D_

_Liesel Meminger: Oh, that´s sweet, thank you so much- I´ll post the next part now and I´ll be quicker with the part after that, promised!!_

When Clarisse arrived back from her lunch the second limousine was already parked in front of the Genovian consulate which meant Amelia was waiting for her- and that Josef was around somewhere of course.

The queen excited the car and came face to face with Charlotte who had been standing outside the entrance.

"Your Majesty, the princess is waiting at your office, I think she´s doing homework."

"Thank you, Charlotte- do you happen to know where Josef is?"

"He´s on the phone to some security agency he wants to hire for the ball."

"Oh, I see- I´ll talk to him later then" Clarisse sighed, leading the way down the corridor towards her office.

Mia was sitting on the sofa, a book in her lap and a frown on her face.

"Hello, Amelia."

"Oh, hi Grandma."

The girl smiled shyly and Clarisse sat down next to her, looking at the book.

"Homework?"

"Yes, French" Mia sighed.

"What do you have to do?"

"A translation and it´s horrible."

"Let me see" Clarisse took the book from her granddaughter, then nodded towards Mia´s schoolbag.

"Go on, get something to write, we don´t have time to sit around all afternoon."

"You are going to help me with my homework?"

"No, I am going to do your homework, we can start polishing your French some other time, right now we have more important things to do."

Clarisse started translating while Mia scribbled frantically, trying to keep up with her grandmother´s pace.

"Wow- that´s great, it didn´t take you any longer than to read it" Mia sounded very impressed.

"It´s my native language" Clarisse stated calmly, closing the book.

"Shut up- you mean you´ve only learned English afterwards?"

The girl was staring at her and Clarisse nodded, amused at Mia´s surprise.

"As a matter of fact- my mother was French, my father English, they only talked French to me for about four years, then Father started speaking English with me while Mamam kept speaking French."

"Ok- wow."

"I´m also fluent in Spanish and Italien and I´d say my German is at least fit for social gatherings" Clarisse added, making Mia gasp.

"Does that mean I have to be as well?"

"Well, you won´t get around French and Spanish I´m afraid- but don´t worry, there´s a lot of time for those things, right now we´ll get back to the basics, come on."


	6. Chapter 6

_Captain Weirdo: Hehe, yeah, that was the point :D- of course she can´t, I mean she IS the queen, who needs homework after all... Besides everyone likes homework, unless it´s their own!_

_addlogcon: Good point- well, phone Clarisse and ask her then- but from the way you say it it´s over now anyway, isn´t it?_

_Liesel Meminger: Ok, ok, I´m soooooory, so here´s a LONG chapter and I´ll have another part tomorrow, I hope you forgive me now and stop being annoyed... :(_

"Hello?"

"It´s me."

"Oh, hello, Rupert."

"You sound incredibly distracted, what happened?"

"Nothing special, I simply had a long day."

"You always do, now tell me."

Clarisse wondered for a moment what convincing lie she could feed her husband, then she decided to simply cause some distraction herself.

"We´ll have to do something about Amelia´s French, she´s hopeless."

"A nice try, Clarisse."

"I´m serious, I watched her trying to do her homework."

"Not good enough, Darling, you have to come up with something a bit more convincing."

Her husband sounded amused at her obvious attempts to get around answering his question but not upset about it, Clarisse knew that he thought it polite to ask her what was wrong but would let her get away with not telling him if he was convinced that she actually didn´t want to.

"Fine, I´ll give up- are you still coming here as planned?"

"Up to now, yes- that reminds me, Pierre will call you tomorrow, I talked to him earlier."

"Oh- how is he?"

"He is fine, busy like always, sometimes I think he might be busier where he is now than he would have been in my place."

"Probably- how was Parliament today?"

"Boring and we have to do something about Van Troken, the man is getting to me."

"I know but he´ll come over here next week for the state dinner, so I´ll deal with him for a change and you can take a break."

Clarisse joked, causing her husband to laugh.

"Yes, Dear, I know, I´m very sorry about that."

"It´s fine, I´ll have him seated as far away from me as possible."

"I bet Josef will see to that" Rupert replied smoothly and Clarisse sighed.

"Not again, Rupert."

"What, can´t I even mention him now? That´s a bit difficult, Darling, he´s around you twenty four hours a day."

"Hardly- besides I have told you that he´s with Amelia most of the time."

"I´m not upset to hear that- as long as whoever is watching over you now is capable of doing a good job."

"I suppose so, I havn´t been killed yet" Clarisse answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"That´s good news then" Rupert said cheerfully, then added "you should go to bed now, Darling, it´s almost midnight over there."

"You are right, I´ll do that- I´ll call you again tomorrow, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Clarisse- and don´t be too mad at me."

"I´m not."

Clarisse replied gently, then put the receiver down and got up from her desk.

She briefly wondered if she should indeed just go to bed, then decided that some fresh air would do her good and walked over to the office doors.

She found Josef in the entrance hall, like she had expected, sitting over some papers.

"Moonlight stroll?"

She asked, hoping the he wouldn´t refuse her after their little bantering this morning and to her relief he instantly put the papers down and got up.

"Of course."

They slowly made their way down the garden path and Clarisse found herself missing the waste expanse of her gardens back home in Genovia.

"I´m sorry about this morning, I was out of line" Josef began, looking over at her but the queen shook her head.

"Don´t apologize, Josef, you were right- let´s just not talk about it anymore, please."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

They walked in silence for a while, both lost in thought, then Clarisse said "I have to ask something of you and I know you won´t like it."

"Why don´t you ask and let me decide on that?"

"Oh all right then- can you please teach Amelia how to dance? At least the basics?"

"I can try" Josef answered diplomatically, causing Clarisse to smile.

"Yes, that´s what I meant- it would be good if it´d lead to a positive result though, it´ll be highly uncomfortable for her at the ball otherwise."

"Obviously- so when are you planning to start?"

"I thought tomorrow- if that´s fine with you."

"At your service, Ma´am."

Josef bowed to her, causing Clarisse to slap his arm rather hard.

"How often do I have to tell you not to do that, I know I´ve acted childish this morning, there´s no need to bring it up over and over again."

"My sincere apologies- so how are things at home?"

"The same as usual, nothing out of the ordinary, Van Troken is messing with Parliament, Rupert is really glad to get rid of him next week- oh and Pierre called, he´ll call me tomorrow."

"He will want to hear about his niece."

"Yes, I think so, too, it´s a shame he can´t make it to the ball, I´m sure Amelia would have liked to meet him- well, she might be interested to visit Genovia this summer."

Clarisse sounded hopeful, the idea of having her granddaughter at the palace was wonderful, it would bring back life and laughter that was head far to rarely since Phillippe´s death.

"I´m sure she will want to visit you, you worry to much."

Josef reached for her hand and dropped a comforting kiss onto her knuckles, causing a wave of heat to surge through Clarisse.

This had to stop, she couldn´t feel about him this way, she was married for heaven´s sake!

She couldn´t even recall when her feelings towards him had changed, or had she perhaps never felt for him in a just friendly way?

"Penny for your thoughts."

"You wouldn´t have enough pennies to get me to tell you what I was thinking" she teased, back in control already.

"You wouldn´t know about that but fine, I´ll let you get away with it. We should go back inside, it´s getting too cold for you to be out here in just your dress."

Now he mentioned it Clarisse became aware of how chilly it had become and pulled her scarf a little tighter around her shoulders but Josef shook his head and got out of his jacked, draping it around her.

"Thank you."

She deeply inhaled the scent of his cologne, wishing she could take the jacket to her room with her, falling asleep with her nose buried in the soft leather- oh not again, her thoughts had a way of traveling down this particular road without permission lately, she hoped this was simply because she was alone with Josef so often and that things would go back to how they had been before she had left Genovia when her husband arrived- though she had difficulty to remember a time she had not felt drawn to Josef to say the least.

They walked back towards the building in silence, Clarisse still trying to work out what was going on inside her mind and- more important- her heart, Josef next to her, obviously wonering what was going on with her and Clarisse sincerely hoped that at the end of this walk he would still be as ignorant, she didn´t even want to imagine what might happen if he found out about her mixed up feelings.

"Are you sure you don´t want to talk to me?"

He inquired, still looking concerned and the queen firmly nodded.

"Maybe you should talk to Charlotte then."

"There isn´t even anything to talk about, I´m simply feeling a bit off color."

"You never feel- heaven´s what an expression is that by the way, I don´t expect it´s very queenly."

Clarisse couldn´t help but laugh, he had a way to cheer her up, no matter how distressed she was.

"No, probably not- please, Josef, just forget about it, will you?"

"If you really don´t want to discuss it I will of course."

"Thank you- now do me a favor and go to bed, don´t stay up all night and make plans again."

"As you wish, Ma´am."

"You´ll never stop that, will you?"

"Not as long as it still gets your attention" he replied calmly, then he seized her hand and kissed it gently.

"Goodnight, Your Majesty."

"Goodnight, Josef- will I see you tomorrow morning before you leave?"

"If you are up early enough."

"I see, that was an opportunity too good to miss, I will have it printed and attached to your steering wheel, Im sorry for making you a baby sitter, would that make you feel better?"

"Considerably so" Josef winked at her, then he looked at his watch.

"You really should go to bed now, His Majesty will be anything but pleased if he arrives here and you are completely worn out."

"He won´t be here for another two weeks, I´ll have plenty of time to prepare till then."

"Then go to bed because I ask you to, you really need some rest."

"That I can do" she replied softly, then turned around and climbed the stairs, hoping he hadn´t noticed the slight flush creeping into her cheeks.


	7. Chapter 7

**Liesel Meminger: Well, now I can sleep again :D**

**Ok, since I believe in keeping my promises here is the next part- well, two parts actually because I thought someone MIGHT think the first one is too short ;)**

**Thanks for the review, enjoy!**

**addlogcon: Thanks a lot- lol, yeah, smart guys, the only one who´s a little clueless is our favorite girl but she´ll wise up... :D**

**JUJUChick16: Thank you very much, I´ll update right away, hope you´ll like the next part too, I´ll post two parts actually, the cliffhanger of the first one was simply too cruel ;)**

"Today you will start learning how to dance" Clarisse announced with the air of someone who was offering a huge treat but Mia´s face fell all the same.

"Dance?" She gasped, her eyes widening in horror.

"I´ve only just learned that I can´t walk properly and I havn´t really worked that out yet and you expect me to dance?"

Clarisse was grateful that Charlotte choose that precise moment to walk up to them and ask the queen to sign some papers, her patience with her granddaughter was once again running thin.

Josef, who had parked the car, entered the room and led Mia to the middle of the dance floor while Clarisse positioned herself behind the small table that held the CD player and a waste amount of the paper work Clarisse would have to see to before dinner.

She watched her granddaughter´s attempts to follow Josef´s instructions for a while, then she tried to concentrate on her papers until Amelia excitedly announced that she had managed to spin without hurting anyone.

"That´s very good news" Clarisse smiled, "Now you may go home."

The girl literally ran from the room and the queen sighed, standing up and pulling her glasses off while saying "Thank you, Josef."

To her surprise he didn´t answer but stepped up to her and reached in front of her, pressing the play button on the DVD player again.

She looked at him, seeking his dark eyes for an explanation and he gave it go her: "You´ve been wearing black too long."

She couldn´t help but smile, perhaps he was right, perhaps it was time to try and get over Phillippe´s death and move on and a little dancing certainly couldn´t hurt- or perhaps it could but she didn´t want to think about it right now, not when Josef´s arms were around her and he was looking at her with so much barely hidden emotion, longing and adoration and something else- was it love?

Could it be that he was actually in love with her, that he not merely wanted her?

She tried to think of something else, to distract herself from that dangerous trail of thoughts but Josef´s body so close to her´s had her spellbound and when he spun her around and back into his arms she melted against him, it felt so wonderful, too good to be forbidden and yet- Clarisse looked up into her partner´s eyes and returned his soft smile without thinking.

"I´ve always wished to dance with you like this" he told her just as the music changed to a slow waltz and instead of letting go of her he pulled her fully into his arms and began to sway her to the different tune.

"I watch you when you are attending balls and think how wasted you are on all of them, all those men who don´t really know what to do while you are in their arms, you are so much more divine than anyone else."

She couldn´t breathe, he was too close and her eyes were magically drawn to his lips, she felt him pull her still closer to his chest, his grip on her waist tightening.

What was happening to her, how could she have let it come this far, she had known how dangerous this could become, how close she was to risking everything she had worked for all her life- he suddenly pulled away and she instantly missed the contact with his body.

She looked up at him, startled to see the closed expression on his face.

"Josef, what-" he shook his head.

"I have to go- I didn´t- please excuse me, Your Majesty."

He left the room in long strides, leaving Clarisse confused and hurt in the middle of the room.

_Dinner was a rather silent affair, the queen was sitting at the dining room table with Charlotte who was trying to inform her about next day´s schedule but Clarisse couldn´t concentrate on the other´s words, she couldn´t stop thinking about what had happened earlier and the fact that Josef was remarkable absent at dinner wasn´t improving the situation._

_"I´ll just ask once and you can decide whether or not you want to talk to me" Charlotte finally said, putting her papers down onto the table._

_"What is wrong?"_

_The queen looked up._

_"Oh, I´m sorry, Charlotte, I know I should be listening to you, it´s simply all too much at the moment."_

_"Amelia?"_

_"Among other things" the queen replied vaguely, finally putting down her knife and fork._

_"I think I´ll go outside for a while, it´s still rather warm."_

_"That sounds like a good idea, being outside will relax you" Charlotte replied, sounding a bit too cheerful and Clarisse knew that the younger woman had hoped the queen would confide in her._

_"I´m sorry, Charlotte, I really can´t talk to you about this, if it comforts you I can´t talk about it to anyone and I won´t."_

_She didn´t wait for a reply but got up and walked out of the room and towards the doors leading into the garden._

_She missed Maurice, her dog would have been at her side now and she could have told him what was bothering her, talking to him always was a comfort, even though Rupert was using that habit to make fun of her._

_Rupert- she had hardly thought about her husband today, her mind had been far too occupied with a certain man in black- what kind of wife was she, she had been married to her husband for over forty years and here she was, having inappropriate thoughts about another man, a friend she had known for decades._

_She aimlessly wandered around the garden, stopping from time to time to look more closely at a particular rose without really seeing anything._

_She almost didn´t see him sitting on her own favorite bench but he announced his presence to her himself by moving suddenly in the shadows._

_"Josef?"_

_"Good evening, Madam" he said stiffly, getting up and Clarisse quickly moved in front of him, blocking his way towards the path._

_"Not so fast, I think you owe me some explanation."_

_"I do not owe you anything- I didn´t mean for you to see me."_

_"Then maybe you should have chosen a different spot" the queen replied, her arms now crossed over her chest._

_"This is my favorite spot, you could have known I´d come here sooner or later- perhaps that was even what you were waiting for" she added challengingly._

_"I most certainly didn´t- if you excuse me please."_

_He took a step in her direction but Clarisse stood her ground._

_"You won´t run away from me like that again, I want to know what happened earlier."_

_"You don´t know that?"_

_"Stop messing with me, Josef, just answer my question."_

_"Is that an order from my boss or a question from the woman in front of me?"_

_She hesitated, he was humoring her and she hated it and at the same time it impressed her how easily he could shatter her calm and reserved facade._

_He had really reduced her to standing in front of him and begging him to tell her that- that what, exactly?_

_That he wanted to kiss her, why he hadn´t kissed her?_

_By God, what was she thinking, what was she doing here!_

_"You know, just keep doing what you were doing when I interrupted you, I´ll go to bed."_

_She turned around but this time it was Josef who wouldn´t let her get away._

_His hand closed around her upper arm and Clarisse froze, briefly closing her eyes._

_"Let me go."_

_"No, I won´t- you wanted an answer, you´ll get one."_

_"I´ve changed my mind, I don´t want to hear it- now let go of my arm."_

_"I love you, Clarisse."_

_"Don´t-" "Oh no, you asked and now you are going to listen to me- I love you and I can´t even begin to describe how much I wanted to kiss you in the ballroom today and I held myself back and left because I didn´t want to bring you into a compromising situation but obviously you are asking for it."_

_His lips covered her´s in a searing kiss and Clarisse found herself responding to him eagerly._

_When she finally came to her senses she pushed him away and Josef caught her wrist in his hand shortly before her balm could collide with his cheek._

_"What, not what you expected?"_

_"How dare you, have you lost your mind?"_

_"Why, you asked me to and it´s not as though you offered any resistance, quite the contrary."_

_"I didn´t- you kissed me!"_

_"Well spotted, Your Majesty- now what are you going to do, let me babysit your granddaughter for the next five years until she finished college? Send me to watch the Genovian ambassador in Australia? Or maybe you could just fire me, tell me to pack my things and get out of your sight so you can go on pretending that your life is perfect and under control and that you marriage is more than a sensible arrangement and that your husband actually cares about you."_

_To her horror Clarisse felt tears dwell in her eyes, her mixed up emotions finally proving to be too much for her- she could still feel his lips on her´s, the passion his kiss had stirred in her and then there was the nagging truth behind his words, her husband didn´t love her, he had never loved her and he never would, she would simply miss out on all those emotions she so much loved to read about, for a moment she thought how ironically her life resembled that of her favorite author Jane Austen who as well had been deprived of the love her heroines found in her novels, unable to be with the man she loved._

_Oh and how Clarisse did love Josef, she finally couldn´t get around admitting it to herself anymore- and yet there was nothing she could do about it, nothing for she still was the queen of Genovia and married to the King._

_"I won´t" she replied quietly as she withdrew her hand from his grip and brushed her hair back behind her ear._

_"You would do Genovia a great favor though if you could take care of Amelia for the next week anyway, just if it´s not too much of an insult to you."_

_She could see the coldness melt from his eyes, she hadn´t been trying to manipulate him, she simply knew that she had no right to blame him, after all he was right and she had provoked him even though she had known how he felt about her._

_He looked ashamed now and Clarisse had reached out before she could stop herself, her hand coming to lie on his cheek._

_"I´m sorry, Josef, I´ve been unfair to you and I´d like to apologize for it."_

_"Of course, I mean there´s no need to apologize, Your Majesty, I was way out of line."_

_"No, you were not, I shouldn´t have provoked you like this, I knew-" Clarisse bit her lip and Josef´s eyes widened at her unspoken confession._

_"You know? But then- why are we out here, you could have avoided me or told me to keep away from you."_

_She couldn´t look at him, she was too scared that he would see the truth in her eyes- she had wanted this, had wanted to provoke him into finally admitting his feelings for her and now she didn´t know what to make of her certainty._

_His hand was warm on her chin as he tipped up her chin to make her look at him._

_"Clarisse, talk to me, why are we out here?"_

_"I don´t know" she said, she was feeling faint, all she wanted was to fold into his arms and never look up again._

_"You don´t know or you are too scared to think about it?"_

_"I´m scared to realize that I don´t have any choice- I´m married, Josef, I have a duty to my people and my country, I can´t simply give in to my feelings."_

_"You do have feelings for me then" he said quietly, his fingertips gently brushing against her cheek and Clarisse allowed herself to close her eyes and enjoy his touch for a brief moment._

_"Josef, I don´t know what to say to you- I do have feelings for you and you know as well as I do what my marriage is like but it still is a marriage and a very public marriage at that."_

_"We could find a way."_

_"That´s what you wish, that´s not what could happen."_

_"Clarisse, if you tell me now that you want to be with me we will be together, no one will know about it if that´s what you want and if you tell me that you simply made a mistake I will try and learn to live with it but please don´t tell me it´s impossible for nothing is if you really want it."_

_The urgency in his voice made the queen shiver, she needed to be alone- Clarisse slowly stepped away and Josef didn´t do anything to hold her back._

_"I need some time to think."_

_He nodded._

_"Yes, of course- shall I walk you back to your room or do you want to go alone?"_

_"I´d like to be alone, can you understand that?"_

_"Would it make a difference if I said no?"_

_"Yes, it would but I ask you to try, it would mean a lot to me."_

_"I will wait for you."_

_"Thank you, Josef."_

_She walked away from him, trying to keep her composure but the short walk back into the house and up to her rooms proved to be one of the hardest of her whole life._


	8. Chapter 8

Captain Weirdo: Thank you so very much, that´s such a great review :D

I like it too, it´s fun to have Clarisse interact with both Josef and Rupert- yes, the very public marriage, our poor girl... Hehe, yes, go Josef!

addlogcon: A very good question- aw, you should know me by now, she always will ;) Thanks very much for the review!

bluegirl- 783: Hey, aw, thanks so much- hehe, yes, I can´t resist my little jests towards Mia, I just love to tease her, even though I love her of course!

Well, sometimes you have to go for what you want after all- both Clarisse and Joe have sort of understood that now...

Clarisse Renaldi: Yeaaaaah- so sweet- I´m trying to get the character right of course and she´s the perfect lady, after all, so never anything too harsh or common ;)

Are we? Naw- we are NOT- thank you very much and I will now!

JUJUChick16: Thank you- nothing like a nice, passionate conflict- more to come now :D

She had been pacing her bedroom for hours, trying to come up with a solution for the situation she had gotten herself in- if it had only been her in there she wouldn´t have hesitated to forget about her own wishes and do what was best for her country, she always had and it had broken her heart a long time ago but it wasn´t just about her, it was about Josef as well.

She had picked up the phone to call Rupert countless times and put it down again, what good would it do to hear his voice now, perhaps it would strengthen her resolve to stay faithful to her husband but when she thought about it properly it could as well push her in the opposite direction, how many times had Rupert decided to stay faithful to her in similar situations after all?

And Clairsse didn´t even think that her husband ever had had feelings for one of his affairs, so wasn´t her own excuse much better than any the king ever had had?

She stopped dead in the middle of the room when she realized that she wasn´t even pondering wether or not to start a relationship with Josef but only how to conceal it properly.

She glanced at the clock over her desk, it was half past three and she should be in bed, it was going to be a long day the next day and yet she didn´t think she could sleep, at least not before she had seen Josef- could she go to his room at this time of night?

But he wouldn´t sleep anyway, would he?

Making up her mind Clarisse took her robe from the bed and pulled it on, knotting the sash as she stepped out into the corridor.

Relieved that no one was in sight the queen began to make her way down the corridor, her heart pounding in her chest, her thoughts whirling inside her head.

What was she going to do, simply knock at his door and tell him- tell him what exactly?

Before she knew it she had reached said door and was raising her hand.

Josef opened the door seconds later, proving that he had indeed been awake and waiting for her and stepped aside to let her in, closing the door again before turning to face her.

"I´ve been thinking" Clarisse began, nervously playing with the satin sash on her robe.

"About you and about Rupert and then I realized that I wasn´t thinking wether it was right or wrong to come here but how I could prevent people noticing- and then I stopped thinking and just came here because obviously that´s all I want."

Josef didn´t say anything, he just extended his hand and Clarisse took it, allowing him to pull her close to him and encircle her fully with his arms.

"So you don´t have a plan?"

He asked softly, his lips brushing against her temple as Clarisse relaxed into his embrace.

"I know, it´s confusing but no, I simply acted out of impulse and for some reason it´s not as terrifying as I thought, it rather feels- I don´t know, good."

"Yes, it does- so what´s happening now?"

Clarisse looked up, studying his eyes.

"I´m no expert but I suppose you should kiss me."

He laughed, a low, warm sound before gently moving his lips over her´s.

The kiss was nothing like the one they had shared previously, it was sweet and tender and Clarisse had the wonderful feeling to melt into Josef´s arms.

Finally they slowly pulled apart again without letting go of each other.

Clarisse watched as though in slow motion as Josef started to unbutton his shirt and pulled it off before reaching for the sash on the queen´s dressing gown, Clarisse shivered as the silk rushed down her arms and pooled around her feet.

"Cold?"

She shook her head.

"No, just a little nervous."

"Understandable- are you sure about this? We can wait."

"We´ve waited long enough and I do want this, I´m just- I don´t know what to expect or what you expect."

"I don´t expect anything, Clarisse."

His words calmed her nerves and she smiled again.

"Just about you and me?"

"Just about me and you- you could never not live up to any expectations I might have, you are my dream come true, any dream I ever had."

"God, I love you."

His smile widened and he reached around her and swept her up into his arms, his nose nuzzling her neck as Clarisse wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Josef, I´m not exactly feather light anymore."

She protested as he carried her over to the bed.

"Nonsense, Darling."

His whiskers tickled Clarisse´s ear and she giggled while Josef put her down onto the sheets.

"Are you always that generous with your complements?"

"You are allowed to get used to it, Ma´am.


	9. Chapter 9

_Quoting Victoria Grant- HOLY MAN! How great are you guys, I hardly believed my eyes when I saw all those wonderful reviews!_

_Ok, so here goes:_

_addlogcon: Me either, it´ll be all so gloriously complicated and sneaky once he´s there :DDD_

_Captain Weirdo: Thank you very much for the review, I hope you´ll enjoy the next part also!_

_bluegirl-783: Aww, thank you so much- hehe, I thought Clarisse without a plan would make for a nice change and well, who doesn´t love a guy complement his girl... Dreamy smile... ;)_

_Zsulie: Oh, thank you- wow for the comment from me :D Actually I was a little surprised myself but then I thought hey, what the heck, they are grown up´s and they´ve known each other for ages, they most likely would not behave like teenagers, they´d know what they want- sort of- well, you know what I mean..._

_Prettycrazy: Aw, thank you- I´m glad about you having time to read it too ;) I´ll do now, sorry it took so long- yeah, nice big conflict and thanks for liking their little bantering, it´s enormous fun to write!_

_JUJUChick16: Yeah, obviously- thank you very much, more to come now!!_

_Liesel Meminger: Thank you- I´m sorry it took so long, I´m really busy with school work right now- please keep reading and reviewing, love back!_

_Clarisse Renaldi: Wow, now you´ve really stunned me :D Thanks so much, I´m glad you are enjoying it and of course Josef will remain as gentle man like in the parts to come!!_

"Will you stay here with me?"

Josef asked and Clarisse hesitated, then she sighed.

"It´s already starting to get complicated and I still don´t have a plan."

"I suppose we will have to come up with a whole series of good explanations, Clarisse but for now we could simply try to wake up early enough so you´ll be in your rooms when your maid comes in."

"Yes- it won´t get easier, will it?"

"No, probably not."

"I don´t care, I want to do this, I have to, I want to do one thing in my life without thinking about the consequences."

"You are having my full support, Darling- now let´s try and get some sleep, it´s almost four in the morning."

--

**"Good morning."**

**Clarisse slowly opened her eyes to the sound of the warm voice in her ear and smiled as Josef gently kissed her lips.**

**"Good morning- what time is it?"**

**"Almost six- you should go back to your room."**

**"Yes- when we are back at Genovia I´ll arrange for a wake up call instead of someone coming to my room."**

**Josef didn´t answer and Clarisse knew what he was thinking about, once they were back at Genovia everything would be different, the relaxed atmosphere would once again be replaced by the stiff protocol of the palace and Clarisse would not only be the queen but also the wife of Rupert Renaldi and spending time with each other would become increasingly difficult.**

**"Don´t think about it now" he advised her as she reluctantly sat up and reached for her robe, "we´ll have to take it one day at a time."**

**"We could run away" Clarisse mused as she tied her robe around her waist, "and live somewhere in a small cottage by the sea, no one would ever find us."**

**"Yes, of course, Your Majesty, they´d send the whole army to look for you" Josef reminded her and Clarisse sighed.**

**"Probably- well, I´ll see you at breakfast, I think I need a really long shower to wake up."**

--

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

"Good morning, Charlotte, do you have the Genovian Times? I want to see what´s in there about yesterday´s parliament meeting."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Clarisse took the paper from her assistant and checked the headlines on the front page while absentmindedly stirring her tea.

"Like I expected, nothing particular- is my nine o´clock appointment confirmed?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The phone on Clarisse´s desk began to ring and she dismissed Charlotte with a nod while picking up.

"Yes?"

"Good morning, my Darling."

Clarisse´s heart began to pound in her chest at the sound of her husband´s voice, images of the previous night flashing before her inner eye as she tried to keep her breathing steady.

"Rupert- shouldn´t you be in a meeting with Sebastian right now?"

"Cancelled- you sound even more agitated than yesterday, what aren´t you telling me, Clarisse?"

His tone wasn´t simply teasing anymore, now it had a concerned undertone and the queen leaned back in her chair, she had to get back in control, she couldn´t risk her husband finding out about- no, she couldn´t think about it right now, she had to concentrate on the conversation.

"I don´t know what you mean, Rupert, it´s hot, it´s stressful and if our granddaughter wasn´t our granddaughter I would say she is completely hopeless."

The last part of her sentence got Rupert´s attention, just as she had expected and Clarisse almost sighed in relief.

"I told you it wasn´t a good idea to leave it to Helen to raise her" the king complained and Clarisse sat up straighter, glad to be back on familiar territory, arguing with her husband was something she was rather good at.

"I´m aware of that, Rupert but now it obviously is too late and we´ll have to cope with it."

"You have to cope with it, my Darling, I expect her to be a perfect crown princess when I arrive there."

"Right now I´m not even sure she´ll want to be the crown princess, let alone perfect" Clarisse answered challengingly, a small smile playing around her lips as she heard her husband gasp indignantly.

"What do you mean you are not sure about that, there´s no alternative, there is no one else!"

"Thanks for that amazing piece of information, Dear- I´m doing my best here."

"I most certainly hope you do, I´m relying on you, Clarisse."

"You make it sound as though it was only your concern, Genovia is as much my country as your´s, even though I wasn´t born into the royal family."

Her bad conscience combined with his attitude made her angrier than necessary and during the moment of silence that followed Clarisse wondered if she had gone too far and her husband was seriously annoyed now.

"Clarisse, I´m sorry, I didn´t want to say- of course it is your concern as well and I know you will do anything you can, I just feel so helpless, it´s not easy to know that the future lies in the hands of an ignorant teenager."

"She´s lovely, she really is, she just isn´t anywhere near ready for the crown- on the other hand, you are not planning to step down anytime soon, are you?"

"No- when you say hopeless, what exactly do you mean?"

"I didn´t say hopeless."

"You said you would say hopeless if she wasn´t our granddaughter."

"But she is our granddaughter" Clarisse reminded him gently, she didn´t want to prejudice her husband against Amelia but he needed to be prepared after all.

"Of course she is- I´ll stop bothering you now, you seem to be stressed enough without me pressuring you even more."

"You aren´t bothering me but you are right, I really need to go, I havn´t seen my schedule for today and I´m late for breakfast- try and relax a little, will you?"

"I will- I miss you, Clarisse."

Why did he have to tell her that now, he said things like this so rarely and right now it was about the last thing Clarisse wanted to hear, she couldn´t say it back, she couldn´t lie to him about something like this.

"You will be here soon, won´t you" she said instead, sounding a little too cheerful.


	10. Chapter 10

_JUJUChick16: Thank you very much, I´m sooooo sorry it took so long, I´ll be quicker next time!_

_addlogcon: Yeah, he is... There´ll be a lot more of those dialogues, dialogues are fun :D I´ve started on a one shot that´ll be only about Clarisse and Rupert, I hope I can post it sometime soon._

_bluegirl-783: Hey :D Aw, thank you- yeah, Clarisse actually doesn´t have a plan and it´s worrying her of course but she´ll have to live with it... I can´t really imagine what it is like to be in an arranged marriage of course but I HAVE tried the relationship with my best friend thing and that´s how I think it might be if you have done it for several decades, you know each other inside out, you know exactly what buttons to push, you fight a lot but in the end you are always sorry for having hurt each other- it´s not going to be easy for her._

_Captian Weirdo: Thank you- hehe, yes, they sure do- and she does have a bad conscience but I can´t help her there ;) Aw, thanks, that´s really nice of you!_

_Prettycrazy: Thanks- aw, I know, I´m afraid you won´t really appreciate this story but I promise I´m working on something just Rupert/Clarisse featured and I WILL finish it at some point- it won´t be a really fluffy story, it will be rather melancholic but I think you´ll like it all the same- well, I hope you keep reading and reviewing anyway!_

_Clarisse Renaldi: Yeah, classic is good for them, fitting- yeah, I never have betrayed anyone but I don´t think it´s really easy for anyone, no matter how difficult or even messed up a marriage is. Ok, I obviously did not and I´m sorry but here´s the next part, finally._

"Long morning?"

Josef asked sympathetically as the queen sank down on a chair at the breakfast table, next to Charlotte who was making notes on her clipboard while scanning the newspaper.

"Long and rather unpleasant phone conversation" Clarisse offered and his expression instantly changed into one of concern, then, with a sideways glance at Charlotte, it became impressive again.

"I see- shall I drop you off at the way to Miss MIa´s house?"

Charlotte looked up, surprised and Clarisse hastily nodded.

"Yes, thank you, Josef."

"Who is going to pick you up again, Your Majesty?"

Charlotte asked, frowning but Josef obviously had thought that through.

"The appointment isn´t going to take longer than an hour, Charlotte, I´ll drive the princess to school, then I´ll pick up Her Majesty and bring her back here."

Charlotte nodded.

"That sounds plausible."

Clarisse felt Josef´s hand lightly brushing against her´s as he reached for the bread and she felt a shiver run down her spine, the simple touch instantly had her on fire again.

"When will Amelia be here today, Josef?"

She asked, avoiding his gaze, she feared that she wouldn´t be able to look away again and after all Charlotte was still sitting next to them.

"At two, Ma´am- what have you planned for today?"

"Nothing special, walking, talking, drinking tea."

"Sounds like great fun, could I join you?"

Josef joked, causing Clarisse to chuckle.

"Lovely, Josef, I bet Amelia would like that a lot- I´ll go and get my handbag now."

"I´ll come with you, I need to get my jacket" Josef stated, getting up and pulling back Clarisse´s chair.

Charlotte´s phone rang at that precise moment and she started talking while the queen and Josef left the room and started to climb the staircase.

Josef had Clarisse pushed up against the door of her room as soon as it had closed behind them, his lips pressing down on her´s in a passionate kiss and Clarisse moaned into his mouth, something about him made her loose control completely, leaving her helpless and burning with desire.

"Josef" she breathed when he began to kiss her neck, her hands clasped around his upper arms, her head falling back against the door.

He drew back, resting his forehead against her´s, his breathing as ragged as her´s.

"I´m sorry, I simply can´t resist you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and softly kissed his lips before looking up into his eyes.

"You don´t know how much I wish I could cancel my appointment."

--

_"So bad?"_

_Josef asked as he helped Clarisse into the back seat of the limousine._

_"Worse- how is Amelia?"_

_"Good, as far as I could see- do you want to go back straight away?"_

_"Why, do you have other plans?"_

_"I´d like to take you somewhere, we still have two hours before we have to be back for lunch after all."_

_"Then go straight ahead, I´m in no hurry to get back to my paper work."_

_The queen leaned back into her seat and looked out of the window, enjoying the moment of complete relaxation._

_"You need to sleep more, Your Majesty."_

_Josef´s voice was even, polite and Clarisse broke into a fit of giggles._

_"Oh, really, well I´ll try to follow your advice, even though I have a feeling that someone will have objections."_

_"Probably- even though I think it possible that he would be very happy with you sleeping in his arms as well."_

_"In that case I should think about the sleeping thing" Clarisse mused, then she sat up when Josef stopped the car near Fisherman´s Dwarf._

_"Do you have sunglasses and a scarf?"_

_"Yes, of course- we are actually getting out?"_

_"Yes, we are- I think it would be a good idea to disguise yourself a little, though."_

_Clarisse put on sunglasses and draped a scarf elegantly around her head, then she checked her image in the mirror._

_"You look like Grace Kelly" Josef told her as he helped her out._

_"Only more beautiful."_

_"Thank you, Josef" Clarisse smiled as she turned her face towards the sunshine._

_"Oh, this is just wonderful- so where are we going?"_

_"We are going to have ice cream."_

_"Ice cream?"_

_"Yes- Dryer´s Ice Cream, very typical American, you´ll love it."_

--

You are right, this was lovely" Clarisse sighed happily as Josef helped her back into the car.

"I wish we could just stay out all day."

"Tempting but unfortunately no possible- who is going to be there for lunch?"

"The American ambassador in Genovia, he´s visiting California this week and since out meeting last months had to be cancelled because of that extra curricular parliament meeting he asked if we could talk over lunch."

"A bit odd, meeting him here when he´s staying at Genovia about eleven months of the year."

Clarisse shrugged.

"Yes but well, it doesn´t really matter if he´s there or not, there´s nothing important to talk about, just a little catching up on trading negotiations and afterwards I´ll see Amelia and then I have some paper work."

"No one is invited for dinner?"

"No- actually I was hoping you would join me for dinner in my rooms."

"That can be arranged, Your Majesty" Josef teased her as he stirred the car back onto the street.

"Good- we´ll need an excuse though, any ideas?"

"I´ll think of something and tell Charlotte in passing, if she believes it everyone else will."

"I do hope she does, she´s about the last person I want to find out, she´d be completely disillusioned."

"Probably- though I have to admit there´s someone I want to find out even less."

"I suppose you are talking of Rupert."

"I´m talking of King Rupert, somehow the title holds a lot of threat from this position."

Clarisse knew it wasn´t the right reaction but she simply had to laugh, Josef´s sarcasm was too funny to stay serious.

"How nice that you find this so amusing, I hope you´ll stop laughing once he challenges me to a sword duel or has me shot by some hired killer."

"Oh don´t worry, I won´t let him and besides he wouldn´t do something like that."

Replaying the conversations she had had with her husband that week Clarisse had to admit that she wasn´t so sure what Rupert would do if he found out about Josef and her but she didn´t want to think about that right now.

"I hope that sounded more convincing to you than it did to me" Josef muttered and Clarisse leaned forward so she could lightly stroke his cheek.

"Stop worrying, we´ll be careful and nothing will happen."

"If you say so- who am I to contradict the queen."


	11. Chapter 11

_addlogcon: Thank you :D- I´m working on that, I have so much stupid school work to do... :(_

_Prettycrazy: GOOD :) Weeeeeell- we´ll see about that- actually I just wrote something really nice for all your Rupert fans into Little Princess, should be in the part after next- thanks so much for reviewing!_

_Liesel Meminger: Hey :D Thank you very much- hehe, yeah, there has to be some bantering after all... Our poor girl having a bad day- all that can help is ice cream ;) Well, I absolutely agree with Joe there, the whole king business is a little scary- Well, I´ll post the next part RIGHT NOW, hope you´ll have fun with it as well!_

_JUJUChick16: I´m afraid it´ll have to wait till the weekend at least, I´m really really busy with school work- but I´m on it- I´ll update this one now, enjoy :D_

_Captain Weirdo: Good question lol ;) I hope it will get interesting, I´m working on that- thanks again for reviewing!_

_bluegirl-783: Hm... Probably ;D I like getting those tiny tender moments in here, glad you appreciate it- well yes, she is worried of course but what can she do about it, she´ll just have to wait and see how it will feel..._

"Ready?"

The queen looked up from the desk.

"Almost-" she signed the last paper on her desk with a flourish and put her pend down, smiling at Josef.

"That´s it for tonight."

"Good- your maids will serve dinner in fifteen minutes."

"Wonderful, I´m so hungry, do you happen to know what it is?"

"I believe I´ve heard something about salmon, would that agree with Your Majesty?"

"Very much so- has Charlotte gone out? I told her to have some fun but knowing her she won´t listen."

"She did listen actually, she said she´d visit a friend tonight."

"Good for her, I make her work too hard but there´s simply so much to do, I should have two people on the job."

"Charlotte would be highly disappointed."

"I know- come on, let´s go and have dinner- speaking of Charlotte, what have you told her?"

"Oh, nothing too unusual, I said we would talk about the princess´s entrance at the state dinner and then try to work out a seating order- she objected and said that this was part of her job and I reminded her that she hates thinking about seating arrangements and that it was as much my concern who was allowed anywhere near you or the princess, so she went for that."

"Very well, that should do then- did she say when she would be back?"

"I think she will spend the night at her friend´s place- and she assured me it´s a female friend" Josef added as Clarisse looked surprised.

"Oh, well, I suppose I wouldn´t be in any position to say something against it if it was not" the queen mused, then looked apologetically at Josef as he held the door to her room open for her.

"I´m sorry, I didn´t mean for it to sound as though I´d regret it, it´s just a fact."

"I suppose you are right- I´ll alert the kitchen that you are ready for dinner."

Josef reached for the phone on the queen´s bedside table and dialed a number, arranging for their dinner to be brought up, then he hung up again and sat down opposite Clarisse by the small table at the window.

He then spread some papers all over the table and when Clarisse´s maid came in with their food they were deeply immersed in a discussion about the upcoming ball.

The maid had just left when Josef´s cell phone rang and when he picked it up he smiled amusedly at the queen.

"Hello, Charlotte- no, everything is perfectly fine. Yes, she´s sitting right opposite me. Of course I will- so are you having fun? Good- no, that´s perfectly fine- yes, I´ll tell her that- goodnight, Charlotte."

He switched the phone off, then looked up at Clarisse.

"She asked if everything was all right and she wants me to tell you that you can reach her anytime if you need her- oh and she asked if I thought it was really ok if she stayed out tonight and I assured her it was- I think that´s it- oh and she wishes you a pleasant night."

"Thank you- the poor girl, she never stops worrying, does she."

"No, obviously not- now let´s start eating, this looks far too good to let it get cold."

They ate in silence for a while, enjoying the delicious salmon and when they had finished their meal Josef looked at his watch.

"Shall we go for a walk in the garden?"

"That´s a wonderful idea- and we´ll get some tea from the kitchen on the way back upstairs."

"Of course, tea- how could you survive an hour without tea."

The queen smiled as she led the way over to the door.

"I admit it would be hard but I might manage- it would depend on how good the distraction is."

"Your Majesty, I´m surprised at you- I´ve never heard that kind of language from you before."

"Must be your influence" she teased him, her hand lightly brushing against his before she started to walk down the corridor with Josef in her wake.

--

_They had just arrived back in Clarisse´s room, both carrying a cup of tea, when Clarisse´s phone rang._

_She looked apologetically at Josef before picking up the phone, then she briefly closed her eyes as she heard her husband´s voice._

_"Hello, Rupert."_

_Josef tenses but kept looking down at the magazine he had been flicking through as though Clarisse talking to her husband wasn´t effecting him at all._

_"Good evening, Darling- how was your day?"_

_"It was fine- a little stressful but not too bad- how was your´s?"_

_"Not bad, just boring- I can´t wait until I board that plane next week."_

_"Yes- how is Maurice?"_

_"A little moody, I keep telling him that you will be back soon but he doesn´t seem to believe me- I probably should hold the phone to his ear sometimes."_

_"That might be a good idea- so what are you going to do tonight?"_

_"I´ll have dinner with Sebastian, he wants to make sure I won´t forget him till next week."_

_"Dear Sebastian- I´ll be glad to see him on Friday."_

_"I will tell him that, he will be delighted- are you going to bed now?"_

_Clarisse bit her lip, trying desperately to get her racing heart beat back under control until she finally decided to just get it over with._

_"Yes, I´m awfully tired, it´s been a long day- I´ll talk to you tomorrow?"_

_"Of course, Darling- sweet dreams."_

_"Thank you- have a good day, Rupert."_

_Clarisse put teh phone back and looked up, meeting Josef´s gaze over his magazine._

_"Are you all right?"_

_He asked, sounding concerned and the queen sighed tenderly back at him._

_"I should ask you that, not the other way around- do you want something sweet?_

_"Are you talking about chocolate?"_

_Clarisse´s smile widened._

_"Actually I was talking about chocolate- but if you have something else in mind I might reconsider."_


	12. Chapter 12

_addlogcon: Yeah, awkward is just the think to say about this story- thanks for the review :D_

_bluegirl-783: Thank you- hm, actually I´m not sure yet- well, I´ll have to work that out obviously... Charlotte is just soooo cute, isn´t she- thank you!_

_Prettycrazy: Thank you- hehe, I can just see her acting like that- well, I´m trying to keep adding those little things, it makes the characters more unique, at least I feel it does, so I´m glad you notice and like it- yes, I´m looking forward to that too ;)_

_JUJUChick16: Yes- I admit that wasn´t really subtle... ;) Thank you!_

Clarisse shuddered as she dried her hands, she hated that slimy guy but he simply was the best and she needed the best, Amelia had to look presentable, even though Clarisse almost felt a shamed to be thinking this- wasn´t it much more important that the girl was feeling comfortable with herself?

"You´re looking troubled, what´s wrong?"

The queen smiled at Josef in the mirror before turning around.

"It´s about Paolo- I´m sure he´ll succeed admirably but I feel a little guilty not to have asked her at all if she even wants to change."

"It can´t be helped, can it- you can hardly let her attend the dinner like that, as long as she agrees to represent her country she will have to live up to being in the spotlight."

"Yes- well, there´s still a chance that she will be happy about it, isn´t there?"

"There is of course- are you going back upstairs straight away?"

"I wanted to stop by the kitchen first, I´m planning to have tea once Amelia is ready."

"You mean you want an excuse to distract Paolo from stealing any more of your precious time."

"Obviously- where have you been?"

"I was on the phone to the prime minister, I wanted to inform him that I´ll pick him up at the airport tomorrow personally, you know they are rather nervous when they are traveling with Marissa."

"Thoughtful like always" the queen smiled as she led the way down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

"Do you think there´s a chance we can sneak away later? I could come with you when you´re driving Mia home- I´d really like to see a little more of the city."

Josef looked thoughtful.

"I suppose we can think of something- I´ll check it out and let you know after tea."

Clarisse smiled warmly back at him.

"Thank you, Josef."

--

"Are you coming with us? Like that?"

Mia asked as Clarisse descended the stairs and walked towards the limousine.

"As a matter of fact I am- though I have no idea where I´m going afterwards, my dear bodyguard wouldn´t tell me, all he did tell me was to dress in an evening gown."

She glared playfully at Josef who grinned back.

"You have to learn some patience, Your Majesty- you asked me to find something you could do tonight and I have."

"Or Joe only wanted to see you in that dress- I could understand that" Mia stated innocently before getting into the car, missing the look Clarisse exchanged with Josef.

"You are looking absolutely spectacular" Josef whispered into the queen´s ear as he held open the door for her.

"Thank you" she replied quietly, then she got into the back seat next to her granddaughter, smoothing out her salmon pink dress.

To the queen´s relief Amelia seemed to be rather content with her new looks and Clarisse thought that the girl looked really lovely.

They took the princess home, then Josef pulled back out onto the street.

"Are you telling me where we are going now?"

"You asked me at dinner already- five times."

"Well, you didn´t say anything- are you sure I´m not overdressed?"

"No, don´t worry, you look absolutely perfect."

"And what about you?"

"I´m wearing a white shirt and a bow tie underneath this- and my tux jacket is in the boot."

"Your tux? All right, tell me where we are going, right now- oh, wait, the opera?"

Josef nodded and Clarisse sighed happily.

"Oh Josef, that´s just wonderful, I so regretted that I wouldn´t have time to go there."

--

Josef had arranged for them to be led to their box early before most of the guests had even arrived to avoid too much attention- the queen´s visit to San Francisco had been a topic in every magazine and paper in the previous week after all.

They ordered champagne and settled into their seats, overlooking the theatre.

"It´s beautiful, isn´t it?"

"Yes- not half as much as you, though."

The queen smiled tenderly, her hand cupping her lover´s cheek.

"Thank you, Josef- I´m so happy to be here with you."

"Me too- am I right in thinking that you havn´t been to the opera at all since London last year?"

"You are- I missed it but there simply was no time- we really should try and do something about the opera in Pyrus, bring it up to international standard."

"And already you found something new you can devote your attention to- I should warn Charlotte."

Clarisse chuckled.

"You are right, I sound like last week when I made her order those fountains- but Charlotte is much more interested in music than in flowers, so maybe she´ll even like the idea."

--

Josef helped Clarisse out of the limousine in front of the consulate and handed to key to one of the doormen who had bowed respectfully when the queen passed him.

"I´ll accompany Her Majesty inside, could you take the limo to the garage?"

The man nodded.

"Sure, Joe- had a good time?"

"It was nice, great music- don´t try to pretend you´re interested in that, Ian, the only events you ever go to willingly are rock concerts."

The other man grinned.

"You got me- well, have a good night."

Josef climbed the steps and found Clarisse waiting for him in the lobby.

"Is there anyone you aren´t on speaking terms with?"

"Not that I´m aware of- I like to know everyone, I´m less nervous when I know who´s close to you."

"I see- perhaps I should make an effort and stop calling them gardening people or culinary people- it´s not exactly respectful, is it."

"Well, I suppose if you want to have your employees respect you you have to seem a little distant- besides you do know the names of your maids and your housekeeper- well and of Charlotte and your security, that should be enough."

"I´m glad you said that- it would be horrible to try and remember them all" the queen admitted a little guiltily.

"Anytime, I always try to make you feel better- shall we get a cup of tea from the kitchen?"

"Yes, that sounds nice- we should get to bed then though, it´s really late."

"What are you planning to do with Mia tomorrow?"

"Oh, this and that, a little waving, a little public talking- public talking in private that is."

"Interesting idea- you are aware that the princess does have some- issues- when it comes to that kind of thing?"

"She told me about that- well, we´ll see what we can do, I´ll start with letting her read Shakespeare, that shouldn´t be too bad."


	13. Chapter 13

_Sorry for the long delay, I was on holiday and now I´m in the midst of graduation- quick question to begin with, would anyone be interested in reading a Victor/Victoria and/or a My Fair lady story because then I´d write something sometime soon- thanks for all the great reviews and please keep reading!_

**JUJUChick16: There´s nothing like a romantic guy, is there ;) Thank you very much!**

**addlogcon: Thanks- sorry, in the next part and I think I´ll update Coconut later with some action in it... Just busy with my exam!**

**bluegirl-783: Thank you- well, up to now Mia is just her usual cheeky self but she´ll start suspecting something soon and I suppose it´ll lead to some nice conflicts... Especially if I should be mean and decide to make Mia get along with her grandfather really well... ;)**

**LochinbluSpirit: Thank you very much- well, I´m graduating right now- at least I´m trying- so I don´t have enough time, it´ll get better again eventually!**

**Prettycrazy: Thanks- lol, of course that´s what Joe is doing- naw, Rupert will cause enough trouble once he´s there, besides Sebastian is arriving now and that´ll provide enough complications for one week.**

**Captain Weido: Thanks- hehe, nothing but cheeeeeeky Mia!**

They had arrived in the kitchen and Clarisse started making tea while Josef searched for something to eat.

"You are always hungry, aren´t you?"

The queen asked, sounding amused.

"Obviously- does that mean that you don´t want chocolate cake?"

"Oh well- I can´t let you eat it all by yourself, you might get sick."

"How very thoughtful of you- you should get out of this dress before you start eating sticky cake though, it would be a shame if you smeared chocolate all over it."

"Excuse me? I never smear anything anywhere."

"Ok, ok- you should take it off anyway, if you don´t how are you going to carry the tray upstairs?"

Clarisse glared playfully at him.

"You are so awful- I will hold my dress up on the way, like I always do and you are going to take the tray."

Josef smiled as he opened the fridge and took out a plate with chocolate cake.

"All right, it was worth a try- go on, we have far better chances to get upstairs without being seen if we go separately."

--

"What kept you?"

Clarisse´s innocent question went completely unnoticed by Josef, he was far too busy looking at her sitting on the bed in a pale pink silk dressing gown that had glided off her shoulder far enough to allow a glimpse at the pink lace her lingerie was made of.

Josef put the tray down on the bedside table and sat down next to the queen, still looking at her and he could detect the amusement in her blue eyes.

"Anything wrong?"

"Not at all, quite the contrary- if I´d die right now I´d die a very happy man."

"I never knew you were that easily satisfied" she teased but captured his hands in her´s when he reached for her.

"Don´t even think about it, I want my tea first- and cake."

"Are you sure you don´t want to smear it all over you?"

Josef asked coyly, causing Clarisse to gasp.

"You are such a cad, it´s impossible- you are going to keep those hands of yours in check until I´m finished eating."

"FIne, I´ll do my best."

"How very reassuring- are you sure your best will be good enough?"

"It isn´t?"

"Oh, what am I going to do with you?"

"I have some ideas."

"Don´t act on them- yet."

"Now who is being cheeky now?"

"I never said I wasn´t but I am the queen, so I get to be cheeky, you are supposed to be responsible and serious."

"I see, well, bad luck for me then."

Josef took the platter with cake and put a slice on each of their plates, then picked up his fork.

"Since I am not going to win this argument I´ll be concentrating on the cake" he stated and the queen laughed as she picked up her own plate and fork.

"A smart thing to do if you ask me."

"We have to practice waving?"

The princess asked, sounding incredulous but Clarisse waved the question aside, impatient to get started.

"We do indeed- now sit down."

She exchanged a glance with Josef who looked as though he had to bite his lip to keep himself from smiling, then sat down next to Mia and started to explain the art of waving the right way to her granddaughter.

Josef excused himself some time later to pick up the prime minister and Clarisse turned to her granddaughter.

"That is it for today, Amelia- do you want to stay until Josef comes back with Sebastian or would you prefer to meet him tomorrow at the dinner?"

"If that´s ok I´ll go home, I think I´d rather meet him when I´m all dressed up and all that."

"As you wish- Charlotte will find someone to take you home for you, if you excuse me then, I have to change for dinner- I´ll see you tomorrow at five to get ready for the dinner?"

"Yeah, sure- bye, Grandma."

Clarisse smiled at the girl, then called Charlotte in and asked her to find a chauffeur for the princess before she left the office and went upstairs to her rooms.

She had just finished dressing when there was a knock at the door and when she opened it she found Josef outside.

"Sebastian and Sheila are settling into their room right now, Marissa is out in the garden with Charlotte- is the princess at home already?"

"Yes, she said she´d rather meet them all tomorrow- that probably is a good idea, we can answer all questions tonight without Amelia being present."

Josef closed the door behind himself and sat down on the bed while watching Clarisse put on her lipstick.

"You don´t need any of this, you know- you are perfect without it all."

She smiled at him in the mirror.

"Thank you- I have a feeling you are prejudiced in my favor somehow though."

"How could I not be- it´s pointless to put on lipstick though."

"I´m able to eat and drink without smearing my lipstick all over my fork and glass, Josef."

"That´s not what I meant."

His face was expressionless and it took Clarisse a moment to understand his comment, then she shook her head.

"It´s kiss proofed as well."

"We´ll see about that later- now come on, we´ll be late- just like always."

"Just because I´m deeply and desperately in love with you doesn´t mean you get to be impertinent."

"I am deeply sorry, Your Majesty- is there anything I can do to make it up to you again?"

"Not right now, you will have to wait until later- and we have to be really careful, now that Sebastian and Sheila are here" she added, more seriously.


	14. Chapter 14

"Are you sure I look ok?"

Mia inquired doubtfully as she turned in front of the floor length mirror.

"You are looking fine, Amelia- now excuse me please, I have to get dressed myself."

"Sure, Grandma- I promise I will try really hard not to embarrass you tonight- if anything happens it´s not on purpose."

"I´ll bear that in mind- I will see you in about an hour."

The queen left the room and made her way down the corridor towards her own suite where she found her ladie´s maids already waiting with her dress.

She had just finished putting it on and dismissed her maids when the door opened and Josef slipped into the room, his smile widening at the sight of her.

"You are looking beautiful- but then what´s new about that."

He kissed her hand, then glanced at his watch.

"I´ll go and escort Mia downstairs now- are you ready to join the party?"

"Yes, you can tell Charlotte that everyone can proceed to the dining room, I will be down in a few minutes- and please make sure Amelia doesn´t fall down the stairs, will you?"

"I´ll try my best- I told her to keep her hand on the banisters- just in case."

"Wonderful, what could possibly go wrong?"

They looked at each other, then started to smile at the same time and the queen sighed.

"You are right- it´s Mia we are talking about."

---

"Are you all right?"

Josef´s gentle voice interrupted Clarisse´s musings.

"Help me out here, Josef- how am I going to start? Maybe `Hello Rupert, don´t worry, everyone thought she was charming´or `I thought I´d warn you before you read in a paper tomorrow, it didn´t go too well`or `Rupert, I´m really out of ideas, how about you come up with something next´?"

"How about `she did all right for her first official dinner´?"

Josef sat down next to the queen and Clarisse leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"You really think so?"

"Yes- you are making it much worse than it actually was, everyone thought it was rather sweet and most certainly amusing."

"Does Amelia agree on that?"

"Of course not, she is just like you, she always sets too high standards for herself but other than you she has never been brought up to live up to them."

"You are right of course, I really trusted Helen to see to that but obviously I was mistaken- do you think Amelia will be all right?"

"She will be, don´t worry, just don´t be too hard on her tomorrow, skip the lessons for the day and take some time to get to know her better."

"You really think that would help?"

"I´m certain it will."

She had never seen him look so angry, he seemed to be positively smoldering with rage.

He took her arm without further comment and pulled her down the corridor towards her office, slamming the door behind them when they reached it.

Clarisse didn´t dare to say anything, she felt intimidated by him, she had only heard about his famous temper but never been a witness and most certainly not the victim to it.

"Sit."

Josef snarled and she obeyed without thinking, sitting down on her sofa.

"Now would you kindly explain what on earth possessed you to act so insanely stupid and irresponsible?"

Clarisse could tell that he was trying his very best to not loose control and yell at her and she backed away from him, further into the cushions on the sofa.

"I´m sorry I made you worry, I just thought it would be good to get away for a while, to give her a chance to relax."

Her own words sounded rather shallow to her and they certainly did nothing to console Josef.

"You thought- Clarisse, are you crazy? I have brought fifteen members of palace security over here with me to more or less be able to ensure your safety and I´ve been worried sick that it might not be enough after all and you think it would be a good idea to drive around town by yourself?"

"Josef, I´m really sorry, she looked so upset and I just wanted to make her feel better, I didn´t think much I suppose."

"I really can´t believe you- I have to get out of here for some time, try not to get into any more trouble."

"Josef, where are you going?"

"I don´t know- out, somewhere where I can get away from you."

Clarisse bit her lip, she wished she had thought properly now, she had by no means wanted to hurt Josef with her actions.

"Look, I am truly sorry."

"That isn´t enough, Clarisse, not this time- I had one hell of a day and it´s entirely your fault."

"I know- I won´t do it again, never, please don´t go."

"Don´t you have to make a phone call anyway?"

He was obviously trying to hurt her now and Clarisse knew that he would regret it bitterly lately and that she probably should just let him leave before he said even more.

"You are right, I should do that- I suppose I will see you tomorrow then."

She avoided his gaze, she didn´t want to see his nod, she had gotten so used to spending the night with him that the thought of having to sleep alone in her large empty bed tonight almost scared her.

Josef had been standing in front of the queen´s bedroom door for almost half an hour, he didn´t really know what to say to her, he had been too harsh on her earlier and he was terribly sorry and wanted to apologize but he wasn´t sure she even would want to see him, after all she had explicitly told him that she would see him tomorrow.

FInally Josef decided to wait until the morning, it was late and the queen would probably been asleep.

"Joe?"

He turned around, summoning an unconvincing smile on his face.

"Charlotte, hello."

"What are you doing up here?"

"Nothing, I was just walking past."

"Joe, you have been standing here for half an hour, stop trying to-"

Charlotte was interrupted when the door in front of them opened and Clarisse stepped out into the corridor, clad in a dressing gown and slippers.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, Your Majesty" Charlotte quickly stated, "I was just walking past on my way to the office."

"You are still working? Charlotte, you do too much."

"I just need to send an e-mail to a friend, it´s not work, Your Majesty- if you excuse me, I really should go to bed."

"Of course, Charlotte- go and send your mail, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Your Majesty- Joe."

"Goodnight Charlotte" Josef said quickly, then he turned to the queen who was watching him expectantly.

"Do you have to send an e-mail too or was there anything else that brought you to be outside my door?"

"There was actually- I want to ask you if you might consider forgiving me for my impossible attitude I showed towards you earlier."

She looked surprised but stepped aside to let him enter and closed the door behind him.

"What exactly do you mean you want to apologize to me? I believe I do owe you an apology, you were so furious that I thought you wouldn´t want to see me again today."

Josef almost sighed in relief, she wasn´t angry at him after all, he had been worried for nothing.

He reached for her and pulled her close to him, his face buried in her soft blonde hair.

"I´m sorry, my Darling, I really am so sorry, I shouldn´t have talked to you like that."

She quietly shook her head as she relaxed into his embrace, her arms wrapping around his waist to pull him closer to her.

"It wasn´t your fault, I was the one who acted insanely stupid."

"Yes, you did- I was so worried, I pictured all sort of horrible things that might happen to you, God, Clarisse, don´t ever do anything like that again, please."

"I promise- I´m sorry."

"I know- come on, let´s go to bed, you must be completely exhausted."

"I´m not that exhausted- and I´m scared, Josef, I´m scared that everything will change once Rupert gets here."

"Of course that will change everything, Clarisse, he is your husband."

Tears dwelled in her eyes and she turned away from him, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

He closed the door behind himself and wrapped his arms around Clarisse´s waist, pulling her back against his chest.

"Darling, don´t- we knew this would happen, we just have to try and get through it."

"I don´t know how, Josef, I really don´t know how."

She turned around and buried his face in his chest.


	15. Chapter 15

_addlogcon: Thank you- read for yourself ;)_

_bluegirl- 783: Thanks lol- well, I love having them fight, passion and heartbreak and making up- dreamy- Well, you´re about to find out, sorry it took so long!_

_GraceBe: Hehe, me too- and yeap, it is- aw, yes, Rupert... Well, here we go..._

_LadyLuxembourg: Thank you very much- here´s the next part then :D_

---

"I´m so excited" Mia cried, pulling Clarisse out of her unpleasant musings.

She looked up at her granddaughter whose eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"Granddad- I can´t wait to meet him, do you think he will like me?"

Now the girl sounded a bit anxious and the queen smiled soothingly at her granddaughter.

"Of course he will like you- we should leave as a matter of fact, we only have about an hour left."

Mia bounced out of the room with Clarisse following her at a slower pace, she wasn´t exactly looking forward to having to face her husband.

The car was already waiting for them and the fact that Josef wasn´t sitting behind the wheel but was holding the door open indicated to the queen that he was about as nervous as she felt herself.

"Hey, Joe" Mia squealed happily as she climbed into the car and Josef smiled tightly at the girl.

"Hello, Princess."

His eyes met Clarisse´s and he told her silently what she already knew.

"Me too" she whispered before briefly resting her hand against his cheek, then she sat down next to Mia and reached for the seat belt.

---

Clarisse watched as her husband descended the steps of Genovia One, her heart pounding at a sickening pace.

Mia was standing next to her, looking nervous but excited and Clarisse hoped that her temperamental granddaughter would occupy the king´s attention so that Rupert wouldn´t notice her distraction.

"Darling" her husband´s voice was warm, tender as though he really had missed her as much as he had been telling her ever since she had left Genovia.

Rupert´s arms closed around her, pulling her against his broad chest and the queen did her very best to relax, an impossible case while feeling Josef´s eyes on her.

"You are looking wonderful, Clarisse but what´s new about that" the king complemented her, then he let go of her and turned to Mia.

"Hello, Amelia."

"Uh- hi" the girl smiled shyly, then added "it´s really great to meet you, you know, I was so curious-" Clarisse stopped listening to her granddaughter´s voice, Mia was chatting away just like she had expected and to her surprise Rupert seemed rather charmed than annoyed.

He reached for Clarisse´s hand and put his other arm around Mia´s shoulders and led them towards the exit, sporadically answering one of the question that Mia kept firing at him.

Clarisse found herself next to her husband in the back seat of the limousine with Mia sitting opposite them, Rupert´s arm was around his wife´s waist again and Clarisse wondered when her husband had shown so much affection for the last time, he really must have missed her.

She couldn´t bear to look into Josef´s eyes when he helped her out of the car, then she hastily climbed the stairs to avoid listening to her husband starting a conversation with their head of security.

---

The queen looked up when her bedroom door opened and her husband entered, smiling again at the sight of her.

"Here you are."

"Yes- have you seen Sebastian yet?"

"No, there´s time later, I wanted to spend some time alone with you first."

"Well, of course, shall we go for a walk in the garden? I have made some additions, it´s really beautiful now and-"

"Clarisse."

His voice was quiet, amused and she stopped talking as he sat down next to her on the bed.

"I´ll have plenty of time to look at your hundred or so new rosebushes and your fountains and whatever else you might have come up with but right now I´d like to be alone with you."

"Oh-" She felt his arms wrap around her and then her lips met her´s softly but Clarisse could tell that her husband was hoping for something more than just a kiss.

She tried to keep the kiss as chaste as possible, hoping that he would understand that now wasn´t the best time for anything else.

Rupert broke the kiss and looked into her eyes, his voice still warm but with a slight edge to it as he stated "You obviously havn´t missed me as much as I have missed you."

"Nonsense, it´s just- it´s the middle of the day and-"

"And you have to work."

"Exactly- and you probably should get some rest before dinner and then we should talk to Sebastian and Amelia will have finished her homework by now."

She nervously straightened her blouse, she was talking too fast and too much and that most certainly wasn´t the best way to reassure her husband.

"Darling, what exactly is wrong with you? You can´t be that overworked and Amelia seems to be charming, so what´s bothering you so much?"

She cast around for an answer that would sound believable but couldn´t think of anything and instead leaned against Rupert´s shoulder, exhausted from all the lies and excuses she had had to come up with in the previous weeks.

"I don´t know, I´m just not myself right now" she whispered, feeling ashamed for seeking comfort from his familiar presence- even though she knew of course that he wasn´t at all faithful to her she was aware of the fact that he trusted her to be faithful to him and that he would be disappointed in her if he found out the truth and while it might be hypocrite on his side she had a bad conscience, even more so since Rupert´s affairs never had been more than a short fling while she actually loved Josef, much more than she could ever even have imagined loving her husband.

He didn´t ask anything else, he simply held her, gently stroking her arm.

---

"Hey, Joe, are you ok?"

The princess´s voice interrupted Josef´s musings and he looked up from the paper he had pretended to be reading.

"Hello, Princess- I´m fine, why are you asking?"

"I don´t know- something about you is different."

Josef put down his newspaper and looked up at the girl, trying to keep his poker face firmly in place.

"Is there now- and what would that be?"

Mia sat down opposite him at the kitchen table, her head in her hands while she examined him closely.

"I don´t know, I can´t put my finger onto it."

"Was there anything you wanted, apart from pestering me?"

"See, that´s what I mean, you are grumpy."

"Grumpy?"

Josef repeated, his eyebrow lifting.

"Yeap- grumpy, you know, you´re in a bad mood- worse than usual I mean."

"And you are your usual charming self I see- shouldn´t you be somewhere and learn how to behave by the way?"

Mia lifted her hands in defeat.

"All right, I´ll let you stare at your paper- it´s upside down, just in case you havn´t noticed."

"I´m aware of that" Josef replied calmly, "I prefer reading it this way."

Mia left the room, giggling and Josed rolled his eyes- teenagers.

His cell phone vibrated on the table and he glanced on the display, surprised as he recognized the number.

"Yes?"

"Can we talk?"

"Now? I thought he was with you."

"He´s talking to Sebastian right now, I excused myself- can you come to my office?"

"Of course, I´ll be up in a moment."


	16. Chapter 16

Thank you very much for the reviews GraceBe, addlogcon, bluegirl-783, Captain Weido and ChickNick!

---

Clarisse was pacing her office, nervously twisting her fingers- this was ridiculous, Rupert hadn´t even been there for two hours and already she was nervous about talking to Josef.

A knock at the door made her stop her pacing and her voice was trembling when she said "Come in."

Josef closed the door behind himself and just remained standing there, rooted to the spot as he looked into Clarisse´s eyes.

"Say something, please" she whispered, she didn´t have the slightest idea what to do, she felt completely helpless and frustrated.

"What am I to say, Clarisse, you know as well how difficult our situation has become- it´s not only your husband who is down at that office at the moment, it´s also our king."

"Do you think I´ve failed to notice that?"

She saw the expression on his face and instantly felt guilty.

"I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to snap- it´s just- oh Josef."

She folded into his arms and felt him pull her as close to him as possible, his lips tracing her temple.

"Calm down, Darling, we knew this would happen, we will manage."

"How?"

"Like we said- taking it one day at a time- and now you will go and wash up a little and then you will change for tea."

"Will you be there?"

"Of course, Clarisse."

She sighed, gently disentangling herself from him again.

"I´ll try to get rid of Rupert after dinner-" her words hung in the air and Josef´s frown told her that he had understood exactly that she didn´t think it likely that she would manage to keep her husband out of her room that evening.

"I love you" he reassured her softly,

"Sometimes I wish you wouldn´t- you would be so much happier for it."

He shook his head.

"Never, Clarisse- I believe tea is served in the garden shortly, shall I accompany you downstairs?"

"Yes, please- I suppose we should get used to being confronted with Rupert as quickly as possible."

---

"Grandma, where have you been?"

Mia´s enthusiastic voice greeted Clarisse at the tea table and she briefly kissed her husband´s cheek before sitting down next to her granddaughter.

"I´m sorry, Darling, I had some important papers on my desk."

"Working all the time, just like always" the king teased her gently, then he turned to his granddaughter.

"Your Grandmother never takes a break, Amelia, sometimes she´s driving me insane, I can´t do less than her after all."

Mia giggled and Clarisse chanced a brief glance at Josef who was standing near the hedge, his dark shades in place and his face expressionless.

The queen sighed quietly before summoning her best public smile back onto her face.

"Well, if I wouldn´t force you to do your paperwork you might never finish it, my Dear."

"See what I have to endure all the time" Rupert stated, winking at Mia who was still laughing.

"And there was me wondering if you two would get along" Clarisse commentated, then added "how was your talk with Sebastian?"

"It went well- Sheila and he will be joining us for dinner tonight."

Clarisse nodded absentmindedly- if they were dining with the prime minister and his wife Rupert would most likely be too exhausted to bother her anymore tonight- at least she hoped so.

Not that it made things much better but for now she would hang on to the illusion that it would all look a bit brighter again tomorrow.

"Splendid, I´ll have dinner served in the small dining room then- Amelia, would you like to stay for it as well?"

"Uh- no, thanks Grandma, I have tons of homework to do tonight."

"I see- Rupert, we are going to have lunch with the mayor tomorrow, have you already seen your schedule?"

"I have and I don´t like it very much, I was hoping I´d find some time to relax."

Mia looked sympathetically at her grandfather.

"Can´t you ever do what you want to do?"

The king turned to the girl and smiled reassuringly as the queen added more milk to her tea.

"I can sometimes, don´t worry, it´s just that when we go abroad everyone wants to meet us all at once, so it´s more busy than at home."

Clarisse didn´t listen to the conversation between granddaughter and grandfather any more, she was too busy worrying about the impossible situation she had gotten herself into- here she was, having tea with her granddaughter and her husband while her lover was standing a few feet away trying not to betray his calm exterior.

She had to admit that he was doing a magnificent job but she didn´t feel that sure of herself, one look could give her away, her husband knew her well enough to know when something wasn´t right.

"Well, if you don´t want to stay for dinner, Amelia, I´ll have Josef drive you home after tea."

To her surprise her husband looked interested.

"I would like to meet Helen sometime while I´m here- do you think that could be arranged?"

Clarisse exchanged a look with Mia, then said "I´m sure it can, Dear- Amelia, would you ask your mother if she´s free for dinner tomorrow night?"

Mia nodded, looking rather happy at the prospect of a family reconciliation.

"Sure- uhm, I mean of course I will, Grandma."

---

"You are looking amazing" Josef complemented the queen before taking her hand a pressing a kiss on her knuckles.

Clarisse smiled tenderly back at him, she had ordered the peach dress the day before, thinking that Josef would love the color and obviously she had thought right.

Their moment was interrupted by the king who had followed his wife down the stairs and was now offering her his arm while looking her upside down.

"Beautiful, Darling- since when have you been wearing colors again?"

Clarisse blushed lightly and hoped her husband would think his comment had caused her reaction.

"I simply thought I had been wearing black long enough now, life has to go on and we have to think positive and support Amelia."

"Well said indeed- shall we?"

They made their way over into the dining room where the Prime Minister and his wife were already waiting for them.

"Good evening, Sheila- Sebastian."

Rupert kissed Sheila Motaz´s hand, then shook Sebastian´s who proceeded to greet the queen while Sheila curtsied.

"Where is Marissa?"

Clarisse inquired while allowing her husband to help her into her chair.

"Her nanny took her out to watch the new Disney movie, she´s very excited, it won´t be shown at Genovia for another three months."

Sheila smiled at the thought of her daughter and the queen nodded.

"I can imagine that- I hope you are planning to take her to Disneyland while you are here."

"Of course, she hasn´t been talking about anything else."

The first course arrived and they began to eat, Clarisse trying to concentrate on her food and following the conversation than glancing over at Josef who was standing next to the door with a stoic expression on his face.

"Clarisse, don´t you agree?"

She looked up, trying to recall the last minute of conversation but she had absolutely no idea what it was that her husband had asked her opinion of.

"I´m sorry, I´m afraid you have lost me for a moment."

Rupert smiled, obviously charmed by her open admittance.

"We were talking about our favorite member of the Genovian society once again."

"Well, there are several people I could think of now- since van Troken is the only one present, I suppose you mean him."

"I do indeed- I expressed my desire to simply not invite him to the ball and asked if you agree on that."

"Of course but I´m afraid we won´t find a way to do it, anyway- that reminds me, how is dear Arthur Mabrey these days? Not seeing him for a whole months is one of the most enjoyable parts of this visit."

Sebastian Motaz nodded sympathetically.

"I understand you fully, Your Majesty- he is the same as always, just unbearable."

"I am sorry to hear that- can´t we simply send him into exile, he´s much worse that poor old Sigfried."

They all laughed and Clarisse took advantage of the distraction to chance a quick glance at Josef who briefly smiled at her before resuming his blank expression.

The tiny gesture made Clarisse feel a bit better and she turned her attention back to her guests, thereby noticing that Sheila was looking at her slightly suspiciously, she obviously had seen the exchange between her bodyguard and herself and Clarisse could only hope that the other woman wouldn´t make the right connection, the Prime Minister´s wife had always been a bit too perceptive for the queen´s taste.

Dessert arrived and to Clarisse´s relieve it wasn´t pears but chocolate mousse, she looked up and saw Rupert wink at her and knew that her husband had ordered a non- traditional dessert, knowing how much she disliked having to eat pears each and every day.

"Thank you" she mouthed before picking up her spoon, determined to enjoy the small treat before starting to think about her complicated life again.

The Motaz´s excused themselves after coffee, Sheila claiming that she wanted to say goodnight to Marissa before her daughter would be asleep and the king followed suit, saying that he was beginning to feel the exhaustion from the flight and jet lag.

He kissed his wife goodnight and started to ascend the stairs, leaving Clarisse alone in the hall with Josef.

"Moonlight stroll?"

Josef asked, smiling and she nodded, taking the arm he offered her and allowing him to lead her over to the terrace doors.


	17. Chapter 17

They walked in silence for a while, both lost in thoughts until they reached one of the newly installed fountains Clarisse had insisted on.

The queen absentmindedly traced the cool water with her fingertips, aware of how close Joseph was standing to her, she ached for his touch and yet she didn´t know if she could allow it again and she wished he would just make the decision for her.

"Tell me what to do" he pleaded quietly, his hand coming to rest on her upper arm without pressure and yet the sensation made Clarisse shiver.

"I don´t know what to tell you" she admitted, turning around to face him.

"I´ll do whatever you want" he offered, now reaching for her hands, his own so warm against her skin still cool from the water.

"You are too good, Joseph, what about what you want?"

She couldn´t resist and leaned her head against his shoulder, sighing contentedly when his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"I want to be near you, always- but I will keep my distance if it is easier for you."

"How could it be?"

She looked up at him, tears dwelling in her eyes.

"Don´t cry" he told her, sounding helpless for the first time since Clarisse had met him.

"Please don´t cry."

She burried her face against his neck, never wanting to look up again.

"I could never give up on you."

She told him sincerely, she was in too deep now, she loved him far too much to let go.

He let her cry quietly for some time, soothingly caressing her back and finally he gently tipped up her chin, his thumps brushing the wetness from her cheeks.

"It´s getting cold, Clarisse, let´s go back inside."

"I don´t want to, I want to stay here with you."

"That´s not possible and you know that as well as I do."

"We have to figure something out then."

She insisted as she allowed him to lead her away from their hiding place.

"We will- I will while you are out to lunch."

"Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

She pulled him into the shadows next to the terrace door and pressed her lips to his, pouring all her emotions into the ardent kiss.

She then walked quickly away from him, trying to hold back her tears as she ran up the stairs.

"Good morning, my Darling."

Clarisse sleepily opened her eyes, then smiled up at her husband.

"Hello, Rupert- what time is it?"

"A lot later than you usually get up, it´s almost nine."

"It is? Why hasn´t anybody woken me up yet?"

"I´ve told your maid to let you sleep, knowing you you have worked far too hard while you were here and I´m determined to change that."

"You are awful" she scolded him but Rupert only laughed.

"As long as I can keep you from working from time to time- I have talked to Helen, she will come over for dinner with Amelia tonight."

"Good- I should start getting ready for lunch."

"We´ll be leaving in three hours, Sweetheart, not even you need that long to get ready, there´s certainly time for breakfast first."

"I suppose you have organized some to be brought up already."

"Of course I have- it should be here any moment, so why don´t you put on a robe and make yourself comfortable and I´ll wait for breakfast."

Clarisse took her time in the bathroom, showering and doing her hair before she put on a robe and walked back over into her bedroom where she sat down at her vanity and started to apply make up.

She had just finished when she heard her maid´s voice in the next room and after a final look in the mirror the queen made her way over into the next room where her husband was already seated at the breakfast table, flicking through the Genovian Times.

"There you are" he smiled, putting the paper down onto the sofa.

"I´m sorry it took me so long- you know, age isn´t forgiving."

Rupert laughed, shaking his head.

"Nonsense, you are beautiful and you know it. Now sit down, I´m starving."

Clarisse sat down and poured herself a cup of tea while the king started buttering himself some toast, she didn´t have much of an appetite, she was dreading the day already.

She was missing Joseph so intensely it was making her feel bodily ill, his warmth, touches and kisses, his whispered words of love and adoration.

Clarisse forced herself to eat something, then she excused herself, claiming that she needed to get dressed.

She chose a lilac dress with a matching jacked and high heeled shoes, then she hurried out of the suite to meet Joseph who would drive her to the opening of an exhibition of a genovian painter in an art gallery downtown before she would meet her husband for lunch.

"My God, you are beautiful" Joseph complemented her before kissing her hand.

She smiled lovingly at him, then allowed him to hand her into the back of the limousine, noticing at once that the privacy screen was up and smiling when he slid into the back seat next to her.

"Not driving today?"

"No, I´m leaving that to someone else- it´s the perfect opportunity to spend a few minutes alone with you."

She didn´t answer, instead she pressed her lips to his, not wanting to waste any time with talking.

They only stopped kissing when the driver announced that they would arrive at the gallery shortly and Clarisse took out her compact mirror check on her hair and make up, then she briefly touched Joseph´s cheek.

"I miss you" she whispered sadly as he slipped out of the car.

The exhibition was a success and no one noticed that the queen was less than enthusiastic about her tasks, due to years of training she managed to pull them off quite effortlessly without really concentrating.

Joseph was one step behind her all morning, occasionally brushing his hand against her´s or smiling at her and Clarisse almost managed to pretend that everything was all right, at least as all right as it had been before her husband had arrived.

It was over far too quickly though and soon the queen was on her way downtown to meet with her husband and the mayor and she smiled sadly at Joseph when he helped her out of the car.

"Thank you- will you be here to pick-" her voice trailed away as she became aware that she had almost said ´us´ but Joseph nodded.

"I will be here- now try and enjoy lunch."

"I will try- Joseph?"

He turned around.

"Yes?"

"Remember your promise?"

"Of course I do."

He straightened up when the second limousine stopped in front of them, then opened the door for the king.

Rupert smiled brightly when he saw Clarisse and kissed her cheek, then offered her his arm.

"How was your morning?"

"Quite interesting- how was your´s?"

"Quite boring."

Clarisse couldn´t help but laugh, Rupert had a good sense of humor and it matched her own perfectly.

"I´m sorry to hear that."

"It´s all right, I survived- and of course I´m looking forward to later."

Clarisse frowned.

"Later?"

"Yes, of course, I´m meeting an old friend from college for golf, hasn´t Joseph told you?"

"No- I didn´t even know you had a friend here."

"Yes, his name is James Dawson, I don´t think you´ve met him, I havn´t seen him in years- we went to Oxford together, he´s chief of surgery at a big hospital here in town.

I mentioned to Joe that I´d love to play some golf this week and he somehow managed to arrange for James to meet me today, I have no idea how he managed to pull this off at such a short notice."

Clarisse nodded hastily, so this was Joseph´s idea of getting her husband out of the way for a few hours, they would leave the town hall at around one and Helen and Amelia wouldn´t arrive at the consulate until eight.

"Well, that sounds delightful."

She smiled at her husband, lacing her arm through his as they made her way up the stairs.

"I´m glad you are so very resourceful" Clarisse mumbled into Joseph´s neck, her heart still pounding very fast as she relaxed against him.

"I was desperate" he admitted, his hands caressing her back while his nose nuzzled her hair.

"So how many potential golf partners are there for Rupert in San Francisco?"

"I´m afraid this one was the only, I will have to come up with something else next."


End file.
